Game result and context
Astros 7-5 over Athletics: Lucas Spence homers three times as Houston holds its division lead
The Houston Astros beat the Athletics 7-5 on September 24, 2026, at Sutter Health Park. Lucas Spence homered three times, including the go-ahead solo shot in the seventh inning, and drove in five runs. The Astros improved to 79-80 and remained first in their division, while the Athletics fell to 63-96.
Final result
The Houston Astros beat the Athletics 7-5 in nine innings at Sutter Health Park on September 24, 2026, before a crowd of 9,367.
The Astros moved to 79-80 with the win. The Athletics dropped to 63-96.
How the game changed
The decisive turn came in the top of the seventh, when Lucas Spence hit a solo home run to put the Astros ahead to stay. They had trailed by a run before Isaac Paredes tied it with a solo homer in the sixth.
Spence opened the scoring with a three-run homer in the second. The Athletics answered with four runs in the third, on a three-run home run by Jeff McNeil and a solo shot by Zack Gelof.
After the go-ahead blast, Christian Walker added a solo homer in the eighth. Gelof got one back with his second homer of the night in the bottom of the eighth, but Spence hit his third home run in the ninth for the final margin.
The Astros scored once in each of the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, all on solo home runs.
Key performances
Spence had three hits in four at-bats, with three home runs, three runs scored and five RBIs.
Walker had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run. Paredes homered and drove in one. The Astros hit five home runs in all.
For the Athletics, Gelof had two hits in three at-bats, both home runs, with two runs and two RBIs. McNeil had two hits and three RBIs. Mason Barnett, the starter, struck out eight over 6.0 innings and allowed four earned runs. The Athletics hit three home runs.
Season and playoff context
In the standings on September 24, 2026, the Astros were first in their division at 79-80, with a .497 winning percentage.
The Athletics were fourth in their division at 63-96, 16.0 games back, and 11th in the wild-card standings, 19.0 games back. They have been eliminated from both the division and wild-card races.
Series context
The regular-season game was the first of a four-game series, giving the Astros the opening win.